LONDON.- A fascinating group of five cars with race provenance or race linked history estimated at more than £600,000, line up for a Motorsport sale with
H&H Classics on June 5th at RAC Woodcote Park in Surrey.
A 1936 MG PB Supercharged racer which had a ‘David & Goliath’ moment. Estimate £100,000 - £120,000 heads the pack.
Specially ordered for competition usage by trials driver J. Scott-Hepburn and later raced by E.C. Harewood (nee Haesendonck), the car campaigned at Brooklands, Crystal Palace, Goodwood and the British Empire Trophy. Nicknamed the ‘Beam Axle Bombshell’ after its David vs. Goliath performance at the 1953 British Empire Trophy Race it was later refurbished by Fiennes Restoration at a cost of over £77,000 in 2013-2014.
Not content with outings at the famous Weybridge circuit, Haesendonck also ran chassis PB0528 at Crystal Palace. Embracing supercharging for the 1938 season, he drove against Cyril Hawley's Alfa Romeo 8C 2300, George Abecassis' blown Alta 2-litre, Peter Aitken's Frazer Nash-BMW, D.A. Loader's SS Jaguar and Arthur Dobson's Riley Six to finish 10th overall in the Crystal Palace Plate Handicap Race on August 13th 1938. Faring considerably better during the Crystal Palace Imperial Plate Race on October 8th 1938, Haesendonck crossed the line 3rd behind A.F.P. Lane's Frazer Nash-BMW and George Abecassis' blown Alta 2-litre. Increasingly familiar with the South London track, Harewood steered 'HS 8660' to 4th place (2nd in class) in the Crystal Palace Plate Handicap Race on July 1st 1939 and 5th place during the Crystal Palace Imperial Plate Race 1939.
Thought to have changed his surname in order to join the RAF, E.C. Harewood (nee E.C. Haesendonck) and his age-defying PB were soon 'back in action' post-WW2 competing at anything from 'Club' to 'International' level.
A recreation of one of the three Triumph TR3S Works racers that Standard Triumph’s Competition Department built especially for the 1959 Le Mans 24-hours. It was assembled by marque specialist Glen Hewitt of Protek, Wallingford complete with the registration number of one of the 1959 Team Cars. The car has competed successfully at the Silverstone Classic, HSCC Gold Cup and was the fastest timed TR to ever compete at Le Mans
An accurate reconstruction of 'XHP 939' - the 1959 experimental Works Le Mans entrant. Built by Protek Engineering, Oxon. Fitted with a race tuned TR3 engine breathing through twin choke DU6 SU. Deeming the TR3S to be the best looking of the first-generation TR sportscars and inspired by both Graham Robson's book 'Triumph Sports Cars' and the TR3S Evocation that marque specialist Glen Hewitt of Protek, Wallingford had built for himself, the vendor commissioned Mr Hewitt to create another TR3S tribute car.
Since its completion, the reincarnated 'XHP 939' has competed successfully at Le Mans Legends, the HSCC Gold Cup, the Le Mans Classic and the Silverstone Classic. It is also eligible for the Goodwood Fordwater Trophy and Spa Classic. In addition it holds the distinction of being the fastest-timed TR ever to race at the Le Mans Classic and in doing so it beat some much more expensive and exotic machinery (the Triumph came from the very back of the grid to finish in 19th place and was clocked at an impressive 137mph). With some top-level historic racing cars changing hands for millions of pounds, this TR3S Tribute represents excellent value for money and provides a unique entry into the world of historic motorsport.
A beautiful evocation of one of the most charismatic racing cars of the 1970s. Potentially eligible for a host of highly prestigious historic race meetings. Genuine M30 Alpina B10 3.5 Litre engine, Getrag five-speed ‘dog leg’ gearbox and sideloader LSD.
BMW versus Ford in the European Touring Car Championship was a titanic battle that lasted throughout the '70s. BMW's weapon of choice was its big E9 Coupe, while Ford parried first with the Capri and then the Escort. BMW was victorious in 1973 and then from 1975 to 1979 inclusive, with 1974 the only year the Blue Oval prevailed.
Munich initially campaigned the 2800CS, switching to the 3.0CSi in 1971. In August 1972 the company created the 3.0CSL homologation special, to allow the Coupe to compete in the over 3-litre class the following year. In its final form the model could be had with a comprehensive aero package of large air dam, fins for the front wings, a spoiler that fixed above and behind the trailing edge of the roof, and a monster rear wing that gave rise to the car's nickname of 'Batmobile'.
This stunning-looking LHD evocation has been painstakingly created over the past five years by the vendor around a fully restored 1973 BMW CS shell with careful attention to detail and a high standard of workmanship.
The vendor informs us the car has been built to Group 2 FIA requirements and advises an application for FIA papers is ongoing. We would encourage interested parties to satisfy themselves as to its current eligibility prior to bidding should the application not have been finalised in time for the sale.
BMW's 'Batmobile' has become the stuff of racing legend and with values of original cars with period race history rising rapidly a quality evocation such as the striking example offered here provides an exciting and extremely enticing alternative.
Supplied new to the Swiss racing driver and inaugural European Mountain Championship winner Willy-Peter Daetwyler. It was one of just 954 250 GTE 2+2 cars made across three series. It has been in its current ownership since 1990 and the subject of much recent restoration work
Supplied new to America, chassis 3399GT was first owned by Swiss racing driver Willy-Peter Daetwyler who had won the FIA's inaugural European Mountain Championship in 1957 aboard a Works Maserati 200S and also campaigned a Ferrari 750 Monza with great success before migrating across The Pond.
Not a race car but it is the earliest MG in the world to have survived in an ‘unmolested’ state, it has been extensively restored by early MG expert, Fred Body for his own collection.
Road testing a MG 14/28 in October 1925, Motor Sport magazine found it capable of 65mph and far more suited to the needs of a sporting driver. Total Super Sports production for the 1925 model year amounted to just 125 cars of which only six were Salonettes. Considerably more expensive than their open brethren (£475 vs £350), the enclosed boat-tailed 2+2-seaters sported such niceties as a V-shaped four-piece windscreen, oval rear window, glass roof vent, rear tool locker (resembling a fuel tank), marine-inspired scuttle vents, sliding glass side windows and twin side-mounted spare wheels. Painted to a customer's choice they could be trimmed with leather or Bedford Cord.
The earliest MG in the world to have survived in a complete and unmolested state (except for the one-off, non-production special known as `Old Number One'), chassis 90553 left the Morris assembly line without coachwork on 8th May 1925. Dispatched to Morris Garages and Carbodies of Coventry thereafter, it was not issued with the Berkshire registration number `MO 6709' until 9th December 1925. Migrating to Wiltshire before WW2, the 14/28 Super Sports was resident in Rettendon, Essex by the 1970s. Acquired by the Sharpe family that same decade, the Salonette was displayed at their Ramsgate Motor Museum until 2005.
A furniture maker turned Vintage motorcycle and motorcar restorer, the vendor has a particular affinity with Vintage MGs and having rejuvenated a goodly percentage of the survivors can justifiably claim to be an authority on them. Having bought `MO 6709', he carefully disassembled it and was surprised to find that the only part of the ash frame which needed repair was the driver's door pillar. The wide planks which sit atop the chassis rails and often rot were not only perfectly serviceable but still carried their original body number stamping 3888. The aluminium body panels were similarly well preserved. The engine and gearbox were thoroughly overhauled (the former is a replacement unit but bears its predecessor's number 103396 on the valve inspection cover plate).
Starting readily upon inspection, the engine has yet to be `run in'. The whole car remains highly presentable and could quite happily grace a concours field if properly prepared. An utterly charming Vintage saloon in its own right as well as a historically important MG, `MO 6709' recently graced the front cover of `Enjoying MG' magazine (November 2017) and was the subject of six-page article within it.
